Dark Empire: The Apprentice
by Crunchy
Summary: AU Dev Sibwarra survived the ambush on the Shriwirr, becaming Luke Skywalker's first apprentice. Together they faced the menace of Thrawn. But now they are separated, and Luke has fallen to darkness. What can Dev do in the face of the revived Emperor's a


*Author's Note: Disclaimer stuff... I don't own Star Wars or anything related to it. I'm not making any money on this story, and if I were, I'd give it all back. I promise.*  
  
Dark Empire- The Apprentice  
  
Dev crouched in the alcove, glancing quickly about. Soon he would be on the move again. It was never safe to be in one place for too long. "Maybe just a little longer..." he mused as he settled back in. If there were enemies about, he'd sense them long before they arrived. Withdrawing a ration bar from his satchel, the young Jedi ate quickly. Then he got the now-familiar feeling... Hostile minds approaching. The Imperial Council... or the military... or whatever faction it was today, had been tracking him ever since he left the rest of the Republic force. They had been on Coruscant for three days after their Star Destroyer crashed. Already, four squads of troopers had tried-- and failed-- to bring Dev down. Slinking out from his hole, he watched as the white-armored soldiers picked their way over the rubble. The Jedi shifted a pile of debris to their left, causing the squad leader to divide his patrol, sending half over to investigate. The remaining stormtroopers continued advancing, but at a more cautious pace. "Come on," Dev breathed, "A few more steps." As if following his cue, the Imperials crossed through a gap in the ruined building, passing over a fallen girder. At Dev's command, the girder shifted to the right, destabilizing the area around it and flinging several troopers to the ground.  
Leaping into action, Dev surged forward, brandishing his ignited lightsaber. He sensed the weak spots in the rubble, guiding his descent so he landed slightly behind the patrol. The nearest stormtrooper scrambled to his feet, squeezing off a few shots which were neatly deflected by the swirling, blue-white blade. Stepping forward, another stormtrooper crashed through the weakened floor-panels to the next level. Dev Sibwarra danced through the party of soldiers, cutting some down, luring others to long drops through the city layers. The scattered rubble gave the impression of a solid floor, but it was all balanced several kilometers above the actual surface of the planet. The lightsaber swung about, taking down another unfortunate adversary, then rotated quickly to bounce back blasterfire from the returning second squad. As the last of the blasters was silenced, the Jedi eased himself down on a the remains of a crashed TIE fighter.  
"Shoulder hurting again?" A familiar voice echoed in Dev's mind.  
Wincing, he rubbed the still bandaged wound. "Go away, Firwirrung..." the young man replied, "I don't need you anymore. You aren't real."  
Ignoring the protests, the Ssi-Ruuvi voice warbled on, "That's why he didn't take you with him. Thought you might fail again." There was a cold satisfaction in those words. Dev didn't respond. Maybe Firwirrung was right. He had been nearly killed when C'Baoth set the Skywalker clone on him. Would be, if not for Mara's intervention. Now Luke had gone off on his own to track down whatever Dark Side force he felt, blocking his apprentice's perceptions so he couldn't follow. Cursing, he hurled a scrap of metal against a wall.  
"You're wrong, Fir- No! You're just a manifestation of my doubt. That's what Master Skywalker said!" After this outburst, Dev paused for a moment. His head was blessedly free of voices. He had heard of the Jedi Master being visited by his dead mentors. 'I don't suppose they went quite like this,' he thought. Firwirrung's first visitation had occurred just weeks after Jedi training had begun, when Dev had failed to complete a relatively simple exercise. With each downfall, the russet Ssi-Ruu's presence had become stronger, at its worse, he could even see his former master pacing around him, picking him apart. With Master Skywalker's help, he had worked past the apparitions, only a creation of his mind, he reminded himself. The visions ceased... until now.  
Still, Firwirrung's message stayed with him. Why would he be left behind if Luke trusted him? That was why he was out here amid the wreckage. Trying to find his Master. To burst in at an opportune time and save the day, earning back his lost respect. "I should have done what he wanted," Dev said, standing up, "I should have stayed at the base with the others. He knows what he's doing. They need me more than he does." Turning back, he checked his datapad, getting the bearings of the Rebel survivors' makeshift stronghold. He grabbed his datapad and began the trip back to the crashed Star Destroyer. 


End file.
